There will be a digital version of the movie available to download on 12 March. This could be the perfect option because I don't want to buy the theatrical DVD either. I hope the digital copies will have the code to see the DOS preview also. “The world is not in your books and maps. It's out there!”

I much prefer the look of the flat panels to projectors.
[In reply to]

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But then, mine is a family/media room, not a true home theater.

Mine is a pretty large set, but what's the aspect ratio going to be? Since it's 3D, I'd love it to be 1.78 : 1 and fill my screen. But I know PJ films at 2.35. But the IMAX version should mean we ought to be able to get a picture with no black bars, yes? Don't hate on me, home theater enthusiasts--I love original aspect ratio, but I also love a big picture. Permanent address: Into the West

I suppose, all this junk means "USA/Canada only". I am not sure if Warner actually offers UltraViolet outside of these; plus, the European release date seems to be well AFTER March 19th. Russian LotR/Hobbit Site:

They will release something, but not the exclusive content
[In reply to]

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A teaser trailer will be online probably at the same time with the preview, however I doubt it will be the same. They made it clear that there will be something exclusive for people with the code so I can't see the same thing being public immediately. Maybe a sneak peak of Smaug himself? Yes we can assume someone with access would record the whole deal but I'm not sure if anyone would be willing to do that, I wouldn't count on it. Then again, Comic-Con vlog was public after months so nothing stays hidden these days...

UK release date on April 8, so no DOS live stream with PJ for us. Really annoying.
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Going to be a big PASS on the DVD for me now, will wait for EE. “I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

considering the following. (All of which Warner Bros. had to put forth an investment in which to bring to us AND all of which we pay nothing for.)

1. We have free access to behind the scenes mini-documentaries throughout production. The VLogs. It should be noted that these are about as exclusive and inside as it gets... until after a movie is released and we see all of the in depth behind the scenes features. 2. We have free access to an official website with free music, games and downloads (something that a lot of franchise films charge access to under the guise of a club... i.e. Star Wars and Harry Potter) 3. The premiere of the film was streamed over the internet for free worldwide from New Zealand. 4. The premiere of Misty Mountains was streamed for free as was the entire Howard Shore Score for the movie. 4. The Mobile app was completely free 5. We will all have free access to any future production diaries, web downloads, apps for the remaining 2 movies.

This is a LIVE special event to help promote:

A. The home release of TH:AUJ (People are already paying for it) B. Kickoff interest in the next installment

As someone who has worked on LIVE streaming events over the web, there is a significant cost incurred to feed the kind of audience that will be watching. How much of the bill should Warner Bros. foot for the fans?

There will be an edited version of this special event, for free, for those who chose to wait for the Extended Editions or simply opt out of, which means you will get to see at least a part of it... for free.

The only people this will disappoint are those who want the Extended Editions, which fans here, assume is the wider audience.

The fact that Warner Bros. and Peter Jackson have already confirmed that there will be an Extended Edition (which cost more anyway) means that they lose out on sales of the initial release... they didn't have to tell us that. We know that it will be in time for the Holidays this year.

How is this corrupt? A company has legally licensed the work, put in all of the effort to make that work (including huge financial investment in pre-production, production, post-production, marketing and distribution), and is now releasing the movies in different flavors for different tastes, with 1 option as an incentive for people to buy this release so that they can have an exclusive LIVE event look at what's coming.

Is it greed when a restaurant charges extra for a side choice in addition to the meal they are offering? If so, what should be free and who pays for it if you are the consumer (who has no investment in the preparation/delivery but merely the consumption).

Should The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit be sold at all since they have made mountains of money since first being published and are engrained in world-wide cultures as timeless stories? How much money is enough for the Tolkien Estate? Middle Earth is New Zealand!

I want the whole, completed boxed-set of films and soundtracks, and I want it now. But I can't have it. So I just tell myself that it's worth waiting for, and find other distractions until I can have it. However many years that takes. I've got the film to enjoy in my head - as many times as I want - and the vlogs - and the LOTR boxed set which I never tire of viewing (but it's quite an undertaking!)

If people don't want to wait until the full extended version is ready (and even if PJ says he's already done the cut that doesn't mean it's anywhere near ready for release) then it's their choice whether they fork out for any intermediate offerings and certainly no-one is pressuring them to do so.

I think PJ et. al. have been very open and fair about what to expect in these releases.

It's the whole attitude of demanding content as if one had a god-given right to it that I disagree with. These films have taken and enormous investment of money, time, effort, thought, skill and I should imagine a considerable amount of sacrifice (working on a film schedule seems to demand anti-social hours and often difficult conditions). Why they should give anything away for free to an ungrateful public is beyond me; but of course PJ knows who his audience is, and after all it's good business to not piss off your core customers; everyone else can go spin :-)

I do not understand this hate for people / entities making money. For the most part, the world is capitalist - well, any of the places any one here would prefer to live anyway. Capitalist. We exchange money for property and/or labor. This hatred socalled corporate greed baffles me. A corporation pays my salary. I use that money to live in a pleasant home, buy food, clothing, vehicle, furniture, medicine, a haircut, shoes, and to buy a movie ticket and/or every version of AUJ that will ever be available. I am not forced though. and I certainly don't hate the company for limiting full access to paying customers. in fact, i think it's exceptionally generous that they're going to give free access to an edited version to the world.

And, before anyone says it... Money is not the root of all evil. The love of money is the root of all evil. My avatar photo is Lake Tekapo in New Zealand's South Island. Taken by me in 2004 on a Red Carpet Tours LOTR Movie Location Tour. 'Twas the Vacation of a Lifetime!

pictures taken while on the tour are here: https://picasaweb.google.com/Kirly7/LOTRNewZealandTour#

I'm glad to give them the money for a worthy product. I was going to buy it anyway and other movie franchises are making as much money or more with inferior products. Just like with LOTRs, I purchased the regular edition and later on the EE. Then the blue-ray and blue-ray EE.

I found the theatrical versions of the Rings movies to be too short and knowing there are parts 'missing' from a Middle-Earth movie tends to annoy me. ___________________________________________________

From the makers of 'The Lord of the Rings' comes the sequel to Peter Jackson's Hobbit Trilogy - 'The War in the North, Part I : The Sword in the Tomb'.

How is this ANY different than how the LOTR DVDs were released a decade ago?
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The DVDs releases of the films in the (first) Trilogy were released in pretty much the same way: first a standard DVD with the theatrical cut plus a few very minor extras, followed a few months later by the special editions with their extended cuts and a mountain-load of in-depth extra features. I fail to see how doing this for the Hobbit films makes Warner Bros look more "greedy" than New Line did a decade ago.

Also, compared to some other DVD releases, this Hobbit DVD may be skimpy, but it's not bare bones. If you want to see a bare bones release that practically spat in the eye of its purchasers, see the Avatar DVD from a coupe years back. At least the first Hobbit Blu will have the Vlogs, the trailers, and a few other things that'll interest fans. Avatar had a play button, a scene select submenu, and audio/language options function. Thats it. Thank you Rupert Murdoch and James Cameron.

On that note, and this is mostly incidental, but I wanted to say this here since your sentiment about the studio is being repeated a lot in these forums: Hollywood studios are not our friends. Studios are not in the business of being nice to fan bases or being bastions of ethical business practices. They're in the business of making money, and if they feel that milking fans for all their worth will ensure more profits, they'll do it.

It's extremely naive to proclaim that Jeff Robinov and his cadre of thugs in Burbank are greedier than Smaug. All studio suits at the end of the day are solely interested in making their quarterly reports look good, and that's the bottom line.

Almost nobody has a problem with releasing the theatrical cut now and the SEE later. I dunno why you even bring this up here, i haven't seen anyone complaining about it in this thread.

What's bothersome is the full DOS internet preview that only those that bought the theatrical cut can watch. Even more so since many (if not all) outside the USA won't be able to watch it at all due to the fact the bluray/dvd doesn't come out until April here. They should have at least put it on the disc.

But whatever, if it doesn't leak on youtube at least they'll put something out for everybody else. It's not the end of the world.

Can't understand why not allow everyone who wants to spend money for this to be able to see the event at a date for all countries around the world...

Oh well , one less reason for me to buy the theatrical...(Pity, I was excited when this event got announced) All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost, The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.